Interviews

Interview with David Winning:David Winning, director of 7 episodes of Street Justice took time out of his busy schedule in August, 2000 to answer some questions regarding directing and his time with Street Justice.
What have you directed recently? Any upcoming projects?

I'm just finishing two episodes of the new Gene Roddenberry series ANDROMEDA
starring Kevin Sorbo. This week's episode guest-starred John de Lancie ("Q"
from Next Generation). Had alot of fun working on the show as the Original
Series was a major influence on me as a teenager. Heading now to Toronto
for an episode of Earth: Final Conflict.
(Mr. Winning forwarded along the following pictures from the set)

What's the hardest part of being a director?

Getting out of the car.
It's a line I've borrowed from Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. Always
makes me laugh.

How did you get started in the entertainment industry?

I just always wanted to find a way to make my hobby into a career. Everyone
starts differently. I made my first feature when I was 22 but before that I
was working as a dubber-loader (mixing assistant) at a post production sound
studio. When I was 16 and 17 I was working as a camera assistant on
commercials and as a director's assistant in educational programming (ACCESS
Television in Calgary).

What's a day of filming like for a director?

Extremely hectic and the clock is your enemy. On normal big budget features
with a "normal" schedule, you shoot in the area of 2-3 pages per day. On
episodic television, because of the nature of the beast, you're tackling
anywhere from 8 to 12 pages a day. Makes the day go very quickly.

Do you start directing the moment you get the script? Are you already
forming a plan of action during pre-production or do you wait until filming
commences?

The first time you read the script, you begin to formulate exactly how you
will stage the sequences and scenes. You have to do alot of the planning
ahead of time so that the entire army of a creative and technical production
team can assist and support you in getting the show made. Quite often the
specifics of scene blockings happen on the day when you have the actors on
set. Often this is their first chance to add input. It becomes a
conglomeration of elements.

Does a director have script input?

Not as much in television as in feature production. Television is a
producer's medium. But you bring your experience and taste to a project and
if your ideas and suggestions are good -- everything can be improved.

What would be your dream directing job? (For example is there a particular
book you read that you would love to direct for the big screen?)

I would love to do another big feature for a major studio. I got teased
with my experience at Fox with the Power Rangers sequel. Coming from
low-budget filmmaking you can't help but be aiming large-scale.

I think everyone should have a website -- to advertise themselves and their
plans and dreams. Makes the world a smaller place. Like having an
international billboard. Also I find there are many many fans of the shows
I've worked on who seem to love having more information on
behind-the-scenes.

Were there any challenges that you had to face in directing each Street
Justice episode? Any particular difficult episode?

Any episodic series is nothing but challenges. For some reason I'm
remembering an episode with a bit of a tricky dangerous stunt involving Carl
and Marcus. "A Sense of Duty" guest-starring Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss,
involved a child-witness to a gang murder. Beaudreaux and Miguel are
talking with Jennifer and her son outside her house as it suddenly explodes
behind them. Blowing up a house in the midst of a residential neighbourhood
in Vancouver was no easy task. The boys insisted on doing the shot
themselves so we rolled cameras with them finishing a scene of dialogue --
just as the fireball explosion rocks the house just behind them. Reminded
me of the explosion in the first Lethal Weapon. No one was hurt fortunately
but I think even Carl wondered if we'd all been too close once the cameras
cut. Great shot though.

How difficult is it to direct a television show that incorporates martial
arts?

Bryan Genesse knew what he was doing and we had a great stunt/fight team on
the series headed by World Kick-boxing champion Tony Morelli.

What was the best part of working on Street Justice?

I had a great time with a really wonderful crew and cast. Personally for
me, it was my introduction the television market in Vancouver and a chance
to work for Cannell. I was just 30 and pretty green.

Did you enjoy filming in the Vancouver area?

Vancouver was my home from 91 to 95 until I moved to Los Angeles. Most of
my friends are here so it's nice to back on Andromeda.

What were the actors like to work with?

Carl and Bryan were as great as you'd expect. Charlene and Marcus were a
wonderful support team. I made a great friend with Eric McCormack (Will
from Will & Grace) -- we went on to do my favourite movie together,
Exception to the Rule with Sean Young and William Devane. Eric played
Rothman in the series. I think the strongest most amazing actor in the
series would have to be a tie between Eric and Marcus Chong -- Tank in
Matrix. The second Street Justice veteran to show up in Matrix!!

What was the Street Justice set like? Any amusing stories?

The police precinct -- if you look really careful -- is a re-dress of the
High School in 21 Jump Street. And Malloy's is a redress of the chapel set.

How involved the cast was in the direction of the show?

As in most series, the regulars (certainly the star) always have input into
the scripts from week to week. After all, they get to know the characters
intimately because they play them every day. Carl was very involved.

Street Justice is a Stephen J. Cannell production. Were you always on the
project? Do you know where the idea for the show came from? And what
prompted Mr. Cannell to act on it? How were you chosen as the director?
Have you continued to work with Mr. Cannell?

I directed two episodes in season one and was asked back for five more
episodes in season two. I think the series was originally created by
tv-veteran David Levinson and Jonathan Glassner.

Have you worked with any of the cast and crew on other projects?

The film community in Vancouver is pretty small, so yes I've had that
pleasure. Gordon Verhuel who was a lighting technician on Street Justice
has graduated to being quite an excellent Director of Photography on Gene
Roddenberry's Andromeda series with Kevin Sorbo. Blu Mankuma who played the
leader of the Vietnam support group on SJ, was the head of the FBI in my Fox
Family thriller "DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU" with Patrick Duffy and Pam Dawber.
I mentioned Eric and Exception. If you haven't seen it -- Exception to The
Rule is currently available on video through Artisan. It won first place
Gold at the Houston Film Festival in 1997.

Did you agree with the direction of the episodes you did not direct?

Haven't seen alot those episodes to be honest. One of the hidden secrets
about the film business is alot of us in the business have very little time
to watch anything!!

Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse are both directing. Do you believe you had
any influence on them?

I wish them both luck. Carl Weathers and I currently share a directing
Manager!!
Thanks very much for your interest in me. I'm hoping people will take the
time to visit the website at www.davidwinning.com and drop me a line. I was
hoping the info, pictures and video downloads would be an inspiration to
young filmmakers. Thanks for being fans!
Regards,
David
Los Angeles
WWW.DAVIDWINNING.COM

Interview with Todd Trotter:On July 20, 2000 Todd Trotter, writer of the Street Justice episode,"The Wall"
was kind enough to answer some questions concerning script writing and his Street Justice script.How did you become a script writer?

I studied film at Southern Methodist University, and like many film
students, I wanted to direct -- until I moved to Los Angeles and began
working in the business and started to realize how much emphasis is placed on
the written word. There's an old saying that was first articulated to me by
my writing mentor, David Peckinpah, the nephew of the late (and great) Sam
Peckinpah. It goes something like this... "If it ain't on the page, it ain't
on the stage". And that really struck me. I had started working for David
as his assistant around the time he and a terrific pilot director named Rod
Holcomb had sold the series, "Wolf", to CBS. It was a great little show
starring Jack Scalia and Joe Sirola and Nick Surovy and Mimi Kuzyk from "Hill
Street Blues" and J.C. Brandy who, ironically, would later be cast in an
episode of "Silk Stalkings" I wrote. Unfortunately, CBS kept moving the time
slot and as a result lost any audience they might have had. Anyway, as
David's assistant, one of my duties was to type his scripts because, at the
time, he wrote long hand. And in doing so I got a heightened sense of how
stories were laid out, how dialogue sounded and looked on the page. In sum,
I learned to write scripts by typing David Peckinpah's scripts. And I'll
tell you something, he's one of the best 1-hour dramatic writers in this
town. And so I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to sit there and just
type his words. Menial as it sounds it was really quite a visceral
experience.

What are your current projects?

At any given time, I have several projects going at once, many of them on
a spec or speculative basis. And in light of the fact that they are
speculative in nature, I can't discuss them.

How long does it take you to complete a script?

My turn around time on a 1-hour script is wholly dependant upon the
producers' time constraints. In a perfect world, I like to take two weeks to
construct the story and one week to write the actual script. Then an
additional week to write the final draft. So it's three weeks for a writers
first draft and a total of four weeks for a "final". But we don't live in a
perfect world

How did you get involved with the program Street Justice?

I got involved with "Street Justice" while I was at Stephen J. Cannell
Productions writing "Silk Stalkings". The Street guys were just down the
hall and Peckinpah said to me one day, "Hey, why don't you go down the hall
and introduce yourself to Jonathan Glassner and David Levinson". So I did
and they invited me to pitch stories. The rest is history.

What was your inspiration for The Wall?

I don't necessarily approach story in terms of "inspiration" - at least
in the literal sense of the word. I first look at the show I'm pitching to
and see what the general tone and structure is, and then I back into story
ideas or areas. In the case of "Street Justice" my thought process is
something along the lines of... "wouldn't it be interesting if Beaudreaux got
a needle stick from a junkie?" I mean, that was literally it. But the
backstory with the needle stick idea came from a real incident involving my
brother who is a surgeon. He was stuck by an HIV-positive needle and spent
the longest thirty days of his life wondering if he had contracted the virus.
So, in a way, it was kind of an homage to my brother who, it turns out,
didn't get ill.

What background information do you need? For example did you have to read old scripts of Street Justice?
As far as background information on a show, I'll read scripts if they're
available. If not, I'll watch the show and study it. And literally take
notes as I watch it. I'm looking at the general structure e.g. is there an
A, B, and a C story or is it an A and B story. Things like that. I also
study the act breaks -- are the hard or soft. Are they "hangers". And last
but not least, I put my ear to the ground, so to speak, and listen to what
the characters are saying, and in what inflection. I try to find the show's
"lexicon", if you will -- a dictionary of words that are being used to tell
the story through dialogue. "NYPD Blue" is a very good example of that.
When David Milch was writing the show, there was a very specific lexicon
being used. Like Sipowitz saying things like, "Let's give this skel some
rhythm". Very, very specific stuff. And, as a freelance episodic writer, you
don't reinvent the language that's already been reinvented for you. You go
with the flow. Or you find another job.

Do you recall if the actors (Carl Weathers especially) have any input on The Wall?

I had no contact whatsoever with Carl Weathers or any of the other cast
members for that matter. Freelance writers rarely interface with cast
members. Their concerns are addressed by the show runners or producers.
And, generally speaking, they do have concerns in light of the fact that the
words on the page are flowing out of their mouths and not the writers'.
Personally, I welcome script notes. I would have loved to have spoken with
Carl about dialogue and story.

Were there any last minute changes made to The Wall? Was the end product what you expected it to be?

There are always last minute changes to any and every script. In the
case of "The Wall", the producers took their pass at it long before it ever
got into Carl's hands. Every producer of every television show rewrites
every script written by freelancers. It's commonplace. Like the sun rising
in the east and setting in the west. And, in closing, a thought for all
aspiring television writers: If you don't like being rewritten you've got a
tough road ahoe. You will ALWAYS be rewritten.
Thank you Todd for your thorough and thoughtful answeres.
If you would like to send a comment to Todd, you can do so by e-mailing streetjustice@angelfire.com
. All kind comments will be forwarded to him.

Interview with Ken Tremblett

Ken Tremblatt played Detective Paul Schuham in Street Justice's first season

You have a very extensive and informative website. What made you create your own website especially in an age where people value their privacy?

A friend of mine suggested the idea of a website to me almost a year before I did it. I have family and friends in just about every province in Canada, (I moved a lot), as well as friends in various countries around the world. I felt this was a good way to keep them up to date with what was happening in my life. Plus, it’s a common and powerful advertising tool these days.

Which of your characters has made the biggest impression on you professionally? And personally?

I’d have to say that the ‘Jim Lowe’ character that I’m doing now, there’s a lot of my own parents in him. I’m learning about raising children and the steady work has provided me with an incredible in-depth education of the film industry.

Most of your body of work is filmed in Canada. What made you choose Vancouver and not Hollywood?

I went to Vancouver at a time when the industry was still in it’s infancy, but learning to walk. It simply seemed like an better place to get my start. Over the years work has grown steadily, I think making the eventual move to Los Angeles that much easier.

Where do you get your motivation when you are doing a part?

I try to consider what the writer has intended, the story surrounding the character and how I, personally, would react to the scene’s given situation.

Do you feel your training or hands on experience has made you more confident as an actor?

Definitely the hands-on experiences have given me confidence. However I do feel training has always been an integral part of the job. It has come in many forms and has allowed me the freedom to make ‘mistakes’ and take risks that I normally would not take.

Many actors have something to fall back on in case work does not come their way. Other than being a successful actor what jobs did you do?

Ha! I’ve been a dishwasher, waiter, doorman, assistant produce manager, demolition laborer, government office worker, table saw operator and massage therapist. As far as having ‘something to fall back on’… I once read that "if an artist has something to fall on, invariably they will". I never wanted that, and it’s made life (and financial security) precarious at times.

What are you currently working on?

I’m on Nickelodeon’s "Caitlin’s Way" as ‘Jim Lowe’, father, sheriff and all around good guy! We’ll complete our second season shooting schedule by the end of November, 2000 in Alberta, Canada. The series also stars Lindsay Felton, Cynthia Belliveau and Jeremy Foley.

Is there some book that you would love to see come to screen and which part would you want?

One of my favorite books is coming to the big screen! "Catch Me if You Can", the Frank Abignale Jr. story. I read it in high school and always thought it would be great. I’m also partial to Hunter S. Thompson’s "The Curse of Lono" and Charles Bukowski’s "Ham on Rye". Great reads.

Street Justice happened early in your career do you remember how you got the part of Paul Schuham?

Not really. It was just another audition at the time. I remember thinking that I had really "made it" after I got the job, though.

Were you surprised that your Street Justice character was killed off?

Completely. I only found out while reading the script with another actor on set. I was never told why but I guess the show needed a change and I was it.

What was your sense about the set, cast and crew of Street Justice? Where you able to gain any insight regarding your craft?

As I remember the crew seemed pretty close, pretty happy. I don’t think I was in a learning place in my life at that time, unfortunately. That came later when I left the business for 18 months to go to massage therapy school. The only person I got to know very well from the cast was Janne Mortil who played ‘Trisha Kelsey’. Friends ONLY. :o)

Have you worked with anyone since your time on Street Justice?

I haven’t worked with any of the cast members, but have worked with directors David Winning, Brad Turner, Rene Bonniere and Brenton Spencer, executive producer Jonathon Glassner and sound mixer Bill (‘Biff’) Skinner.
your friend,
Ken Tremblett
www.kjack.comken@kjack65.com